I sometimes turn asymmetrical pieces that are way out of balance, and even with a heavy lathe and counterbalances of various sorts the initial roughing process can really be tedious and physically challenging. Other large pieces may just require a lot of stock removal, even if they are not seriously unbalanced. Last fall I turned some lampshades from aspen log sections which required removing15-20 gallons of shavings just to shape the outside. I decided to speed up the process using an angle grinder mounted in the banjo with a cross slide vise.
I initially used this setup to make tripots, in which most of the exterior shaping cannot be done with conventional turning technique. Eventually I realized it could be useful for speeding up and easing the roughout of round shapes as well. I started spinning the work by hand with a fairly large depth of cut per pass, then went to running the blank at low rpms while very gradually easing the grinder in using the x and y vise feeds. I use an Arbortech carving wheel, very aggressive and a bit scary in a handheld grinder but just the thing for gross stock removal when held securely in a vise.
I initially used this setup to make tripots, in which most of the exterior shaping cannot be done with conventional turning technique. Eventually I realized it could be useful for speeding up and easing the roughout of round shapes as well. I started spinning the work by hand with a fairly large depth of cut per pass, then went to running the blank at low rpms while very gradually easing the grinder in using the x and y vise feeds. I use an Arbortech carving wheel, very aggressive and a bit scary in a handheld grinder but just the thing for gross stock removal when held securely in a vise.
Necessity is the mother of invention and it seems integral for the wood turner, well done.